Homemade Pin Sharpening Pin Cushion Tutorial

I have made my own pin cushion before; but eventually my pins start to get dull.  

I could buy new pins or push my pins one by one into the little strawberry thing that usually comes with a store bought pin cushion. You know that little annoying strawberry that hangs off the tomato pin cushion.  I always {yes, I have more than one, I don't know why} end up cutting it off of the tomato and storing it my my sewing supply box.

You can buy "emery sand" to fill your homemade pin cushions...

But why spend $8-$10 on a pound of the stuff when you could just go to any grocery or dollar store and buy steel wool for a fraction of the price?  

In my research I have found that there is the possibility of the steel wool rusting; but as of now I haven't experienced this.  I love it, it works like a charm!  I have sharp needles again!

This is the steel wool I used, just from a hardware supply store.

So, this is what you need:

-2 or 3 pieces of steel wool {not the ones with the "soap" in them}, each about the size of a bar of soap

-piece of sheet bedding/quilting stuffing {size and shape will depend on your wood block size and shape}

-staple gun and staples

-thumb tacks or upholstery tacks

-small block of wood {I prefer pine because it is softer; any size or shape will work, this is the base of your pin cushion}

-hammer

-needle nose pliers

-decorative fabric scrap, about 12 inches square

-small piece of felt the same size of your wooden block

Process:
1. Create a steel wool "sandwich":  wood block on the bottom, then your steel wool {I ended up using 3 pieces, only 2 pieces pictured}, top "sandwich" with cushion/stuffing.

2. Place your decorative fabric scrap on your work surface with the wrong side up.
Now, flip your "sandwich" over in the middle of the fabric scrap.

3. Pull the middle of the fabric side up and around the wood block and staple.  Repeat in the middle of all sides.

4. Continue stapling fabric around block {pulling tight as you go to compress the steel wool and stuffing}; only staple on the bottom of the block.  {You can trim the access fabric if needed.}

5. Now, this is what my pin cushion looked like from the top.  You could stop here and be done; but I like a more finished looking end product.

6. Place the felt piece over the bottom of the pin cushion, covering the staples and gathered fabric.

7. Hammer in a tack on either side of the felt.
TIP:  Hold the nail/pin part of the tack with the needle nose pliers in place where you want to hammer it to keep from hammering your fingers!

 Repeat...

8. Continue adding tacks until you are satisfied, do not overlap tacks.

Finished bottom...  The tacks help level out the bottom and make the pin cushion more stable when using.

Finished from the top...

9. For a little extra touch you can add tacks to the sides of the pin cushion...

10. Push your pins into your new sharpening pin cushion and enjoy the sharp pins!

Monogram & Word Plaques made with Homemade Polymer Clay

This was a fun project; I used my Homemade Polymer Clay recipe.  I decided to do a Creative Pay-It-Forward with some of my friends on Facebook and that was the inspiration for this project.

This would also be fun to do with kids; or you could make key chains or jewelry by doing these in smaller sizes!  Enjoy!

Materials:

-homemade polymer clay or other polymer clay

-rubber stamps {I find these great for making the designs in the clay}, you could also use leaves or other textured items

-drinking straw, optional {for making the hanging holes}

-acrylic paint in desired colors

-paint brushes

-paper towel or old rag, optional

-ribbon of string for hanging, optional

-sewing machine and thread, optional

-hot glue gun or other permanent glue, optional

-various colors of felt, optional

Process:

1. Form desired decoration using the polymer clay.

Form the shape you want.

2. Add the designs you want using the rubber stamps and/or other materials.

3. Place the finished pieces on wax paper or another non-stick surface to dry. 

* Make sure to use the straw to make holes in your work if you plan on hanging them.

4. Allow pieces to dry completely; this can take up to a week, depending on how thick your pieces are.

5. Paint the dried pieces; use the stamped designs to add painted interest; you can see below that I used some gold paint to paint the leaves stamped into the clay.

How did I get this finish? ...
1. I painted the pieces with red; let them dry completely.
2. Then, I painted the entire piece with a dark green {red and green are complimentary colors and will help each other stand out and add visual interest}, and immediately wipe the wet green paint off all of the raised surfaces; the green with stay in the recessed areas where you stamped.
3. Add small painted embellishments  I used some gold and some iridescent blue for the leaves and to emphasis the letters.

6. Once you are satisfied with the paint, allow it to dry completely.
7. Next, you can tie the ribbon or string to the pieces for hanging.
8. Now you are ready to add the felt to the backs of the decorations.

* Some of my pieces warped a little as they dried {I think it was because I let them dry on paper and they stuck to the paper}; so for the one piece in particular I cut a hole in the first layer of felt to allow for the extra curve on the back...

 9. Cut out the layers of felt in the same shape as your clay pieces.

You can use a marker to mark the shape of the clay onto the felt; just make sure the mark isn't too dark or you can flip the felt over and glue to the opposite side.

10. Sew or glue the layers of felt together in the order you like them. {I liked the added touch of the sewn stitches around the clay design.}

Step-by-Step Layering of Felt:

A. Sew the first layer to the second layer.

B. Cut the second layer in the same shape as the first, but leaving some extra space around it so you can see about 1/4 inch of the second color.

C. Sew the second layers to the third layer {Make sure you leave enough space between them to have about 1/4 inch of the third color around each piece (so space them at least 1/2 inch apart from each other)}.

D. Cut out the third layer, leaving some of the color visible around the edges; continue for as many colors as you like.

11. Now, you are ready to glue the clay pieces to the layered felt.  {If you want you can tuck the stray ends of your ribbon or string in, between the clay and the felt.}

 12. Repeat for each piece and enjoy!

Homemade Polymer Clay

This is a pretty cool way to make your own durable polymer clay.  I found the recipe here.

Other projects done with this awesome Homemade Polymer Clay:
-Monogram & Word Decor Plaques

Materials:

-3/4 cup white glue

-1 cup cornstarch

-2 tbsp mineral oil or Vaseline (petroleum jelly)

-1 tbsp lemon juice

Process:
1. Stir together cornstarch and glue in a non-stick pan.

2. Add mineral oil/petroleum jelly.

3. Add lemon juice.

4. Over low heat, blend well with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, stirring constantly!

5. Keep mixing until the mixture begins to look like mashed potatoes.

6. Remove from heat.
7. Coat the palms of your hands with mineral oil/petroleum jelly; very carefully remove the "mashed potato" mixture from the pot... IT WILL BE HOT, but its best to knead the clay while it is still hot.
8. Knead by hand until smooth, adding more mineral oil/petroleum jelly if needed.

9. Once smooth, use as desired.

The clay won't stick to your hands but it did stick to my unpainted fingernails, but it comes off easy!

You can insert little screw-in eyelets if you want to be able to hang these for jewelry or for key chains.

We used normal rubber stamps to press the designs into the clay.

The clay takes 2-3 days for something thin to dry thoroughly and for something thicker, up to a week.

Once these are dry you can paint them using acrylic paint.  {I haven't painted mine yet.}

The small two are for a pair of earrings!

 Enjoy!

 Here is a shallow little bowl I made...

These ones below are going to be earrings...

I still have to paint them; I'll stick the earring posts into a piece of Styrofoam to hold them while I paint; pictures to come later.

I like E-6000 glue; it holds super well and I've never had it come loose.